Inaugural Women in Computing Conference

The School of Computing & Communications welcomed over 75 delegates to the inaugural Women in Computing Conference (online) on the 16 and 17 June. The WiCC23 conference team consisted of colleagues from C&C, Careers and Employability Services, KMi, the central EDI team and STEM Deanery. We were delighted to host inspirational speakers and employers from the technology sector as well as our own OU colleagues. 

Day one focused on industry, careers and skills development and included prestigious speakers, OU Deputy Vice Chancellor Josie Fraser, Baroness Martha Lane Fox, Andrea Palmer, IT consultant and Chair of BCS Women, and Anne-Marie Imafidon, CEO of Stemettes. There were also sessions run by CISCO and Infinity Works. Day two had more of a research focus with Amel Bennaceur and Chitra Balakrishna delivering the keynote talk followed by a panel session by Women Who Code and a talk on AI and creativity by Ana Simion. 

We are grateful to our sponsor, the OpenBright Foundation (https://openbright.org.uk), who sponsored the purchase of 50 copies of She’s in CTRL by Anne-Marie Imafidon, which are being sent to students following a prize draw.

Initial student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and there are plans to set up a student society - WiCSoc, a networking and support group for women students in C&C.